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2019 BMW 3 Series G20 shown under wraps

A teaser image of the new generation BMW 3 Series has surfaced online. Still covered under a sheet but showing off its new front end and standard LED lighting, this should be the 2019 G20 3 Series seen before its official Paris debut.

BMWBlog.com says the car in the photo is likely an M340i M Performance version. The site bases its estimate on the kidney grille's outer edges, which would mark it as a M Performance car. In any case, the kidneys are similarly prominent as on other recently introduced BMW vehicles, giving them a different look from the outgoing F30 generation car; the headlights are also less separated from the kidneys as on the F30.

The photographed car is also said to have the new 3.0-liter, turbocharged B58 straight six, which produces some 360 horsepower and 370 lb-ft of torque. While an eight-speed automatic is a given, the availability of a manual gearbox is unknown. The M340i will have BMW's limited-slip M Sport Differential as standard, while it's an option on cheaper trims; BMW's Laserlight headlights are also an option. We also see lit doorhandles in the image.

Autoblog tested a pre-production G20 330i last month, with the 255-horsepower 2.0-liter turbocharged engine. At the time, the car was still camouflaged inside and out. The coming weeks will surely provide us with more teaser images before the car is shown at the Paris Motor Show. The 330i will start out G20 sales in the United States as a 2019 model, and the 340i will follow as a 2020 model-year car some months later. There will be all-wheel-drive and hybrid versions to follow, and some markets will receive a wagon variant.